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Prevalence Of Psychiatric Morbidity In A Community Sample In Western Kenya, Edith Kwobah, Steve Epstein, Ann Mwangi, Debra Litzelman, Lukoye Atwoli

Internal Medicine, East Africa

Background:About 25% of the worldwide population suffers from mental, neurological and substance use disorders but unfortunately, up to 75% of affected persons do not have access to the treatment they need. Data on the magnitude of the mental health problem in Kenya is scarce.

The objectives of this study were to establish the prevalence and the socio-demographic factors associated with mental and substance use disorders in Kosirai division, Nandi County, Western Kenya.

Methods:This was a cross sectional descriptive study in which participants were selected by simple random sampling. The sampling frame was obtained from a data base of …

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder In The World Mental Health Surveys, K C. Koenen, A Ratanatharathorn, L Ng, K A. Mclaughlin, E J. Bromet, D J. Stein, E G. Karam, A Meron Ruscio, C Benjet, K Scott, Lukoye Atwoli

Internal Medicine, East Africa

Background: Traumatic events are common globally; however, comprehensive population-based cross-national data on the epidemiology of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the paradigmatic trauma-related mental disorder, are lacking.

Methods: Data were analyzed from 26 population surveys in the World Health Organization World Mental Health Surveys. A total of 71 083 respondents ages 18+ participated. The Composite International Diagnostic Interview assessed exposure to traumatic events as well as 30-day, 12-month, and lifetime PTSD. Respondents were also assessed for treatment in the 12 months preceding the survey. Age of onset distributions were examined by country income level. Associations of PTSD were examined with country …

Sexual Behavior Among Orphaned Adolescents In Western Kenya: A Comparison Of Institutional-And Family-Based Care Settings, Lonnie Embleton, Joram Nyandat, David Ayuku, Edwin Sang, Allan Kamanda, Samuel Ayaya, Winstone Nyandiko, Peter Gisore, Rachel Vreeman, Lukoye Atwoli

Internal Medicine, East Africa

Purpose: This study sought to assess whether risky sexual behaviors and sexual exploitation of orphaned adolescents differed between family-based and institutional care environments in Uasin Gishu County, Kenya.

Methods: We analyzed baseline data from a cohort of orphaned adolescents aged 10–18 years living in 300 randomly selected households and 19 charitable children's institutions. The primary outcomes were having ever had consensual sex, number of sex partners, transactional sex, and forced sex. Multivariate logistic regression compared these between participants in institutional care and family-based care while adjusting for age, sex, orphan status, importance of religion, caregiver support and supervision, school attendance, …

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Associated With Natural And Human-Made Disasters In The World Mental Health Surveys, Evelyn J. Bromet, Lukoye Atwoli, Norito Kawakami, Fernando Navarro-Mateu, P Piotrowski, A J. King, Sergio Aguilar-Gaxiola, Jordi Alonso, Brentan Bunting, Koen Demyttenaere

Internal Medicine, East Africa

Background: Research on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following natural and human-made disasters has been undertaken for more than three decades. Although PTSD prevalence estimates vary widely, most are in the 20–40% range in disaster-focused studies but considerably lower (3–5%) in the few general population epidemiological surveys that evaluated disaster-related PTSD as part of a broader clinical assessment. The World Mental Health (WMH) Surveys provide an opportunity to examine disaster-related PTSD in representative general population surveys across a much wider range of sites than in previous studies.

Method: Although disaster-related PTSD was evaluated in 18 WMH surveys, only six in high-income …